Seal of a King
by BML Hillen-Keene
Summary: Set during the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The Minotaurs on the ship approach Edmund with something of great interest to him. Hints of the 'Traitors Arc'. I don't own, or the problems in this film would not have happened. More in Rant at top of page. LOL


_While the movie is still fresh in my mind, I would like to have a little rant, and share a fic._

_First off; I am very disappointed in the way they handled Edmund in the 'Dawn Treader'. Lucy was fine, a bit OOC with the whole wanting to be Susan, but you can let her away with it as she is growing up and can't be all sunshine and happiness all the time. Eustance was excellent, he stole the whole show! But Edmund, my dear, poor Edmund… Well, there was entirely too much "But I want to be the leader!", Edmund showed far too much character growth over the first and second film for him to be reduced to that. So that, combined with constant temptations by the witch just ruined the film for me. I can see where they were going with Edmund seeing the witch during the whole fog of evil thing, but personally I think it would have only served to remind him that he had been tempted, and could be tempted, and it would just harden his resolve to not give in. Everyone else had never been touched by evil like he was, so they were easier seduced in a sense because they didn't know what it felt like. Edmund did, and while for a weaker person it would have taken him more easily, we all know that Edmund is stronger than that. _

_Now, everyone who has been following my Traitors Arc, it will be updated at some point in the future, but I just had to write this little snippit while it was fresh in my head… Oddly, my fic actually has nothing to do with what I just ranted about… sigh… but rest assured, I will find a way to rectify what I see as mistakes in the film._

Edmund sat at the prow of the ship, perched in what Lucy would lament as a precarious position that he would surely fall from; but Edmund knew himself to be perfectly safe. He had often sat upon the topmost walls of Cair Paravel, usually out on one of the jutting gargoyles, his run in with a seagull that had almost knocked him off had made him ensure his stability in places such as this.

"Your Royal Majesty King Edmund the Just."

That title threw him back years, and as he briefly shut his eyes as a sadness caught him, he saw the faces of his people, his closest companions. Maxus, Brightspark, Milrina, Frithgawn and Grefton. The Fell beasts, the Traitors Army.

"Yes?" he said, forcing the sadness back, he would mourn them later, when he was alone, they deserved their prayer said in privacy. He turned his head to see who it was who had interrupted his thinking.

It was the two minotaur's, brothers he had noted upon first meeting them. There were few who could tell the genealogy of the minotaur race outside colour, they all simply looked too alike, but Edmund had learned when Maxus had brought a number of minotaur women to him whose children had been taken by enterprising slavers; returning the rescued children was a little embarrassing when he kept offering the wrong child to the wrong mother. Maxus had been no help, claiming that it would have been wrong to correct the king. It had been as close as Maxus ever came to making fun of him.

Again forcing his thoughts from those past times he focused on the Minotaur's.

"Sire, we have need to speak to you."

Thinking that perhaps Lucy or Caspian had sent him a message he nimbly moved from the dragon figurehead to the deck before the Minotaur's. "Speak then." He smiled, putting them at their ease.

One of them produced a small object from a pouch tied to a hidden belt under the long fur at his waist, wrapped in a plain grey cloth. "This has been in our family for hundreds-"

"Nay thousands." The other interrupted.

"-of years." The first finished.

Edmund took the bundle and slowly unwrapped the object. He smiled when he saw it, it forced its way onto his face and he couldn't stop it anymore than he could stop the way his eyes watered. "My seal." He said softly, running his fingers across the scales of Justice, a Minotaur's head on one side of the scale, and his own on the other, balancing perfectly. He had had special one's made for those of his Command. The seal he himself had used was simply the scales with Aslans head above it.

"It belonged to our ancestor." The minotaur who had spoken first told him.

"Maxus." Edmund whispered. He wrapped the seal up again and swallowed hard and held it back out. "It is a great honour to meet his descendants. There was no truer friend and Commander I could have had."

The Minotaur's smiled, toothy grins. "We have wish to thank you Sire."

Edmund frowned. "Whatever for?"

"This seal has been passed from generation to generation among our family, and when times became hard and the Telmarines invaded and destroyed Narnia, this seal, and the others like it, were used to give us hope. They also aided those of our kind, and the others like us, to continue to live peacefully in Narnia after your disappearance."

"Grandmother told stories of how, of all the races in Narnia, those of the Fell races, those that you had brought together, were the one's to remain in close contact for far longer than any of the others, and that They were able to hold onto the belief that you and your brother and sisters would return."

"There are other seals?" Edmund asked; the mere thought that the seals he had made were still around, and held in such high regard was truly amazing.

"Of course Sire, the wolves still carry your seal proudly to this day, it is a great honour for them to have the seal of King Edmund the Just. The Harpies have there's still also, though theirs is kept with their ancient writings, I think they-" he looked to his brother for conformation.

"The had it bound to the cover of their book of ancient writings." The other nodded.

"The Descendants of Frithgawn Tarrow have theirs displayed proudly in their ancestral home, and the giants still send missives from Ettin sealed in wax with your seal imprinted."

Edmund was stunned. And then slowly he smiled; a real, happy smile. This was the reason he had fought so hard to have the Fell races in his army, this was why he had spent as much free time as he could getting to know his people. This was really and truly the one thing that made being King worthwhile. To know that seals he had made out of love for his most loyal followers were still treated with such regard. To know that his people had lived on, and still to this day knew and interacted with each other was just…

"Thank you, Canus, Braxis." He said, smiling even more at their surprised looks that he knew their names. "Thank you." And he stepped past them to return to the cabin he and Caspian shared, knowing it would be empty, and needing to pray for his dearly departed friends, and to thank them for believing in him.

When he was gone, the Minotaur brothers shared an appraising look. "Those stories grandmother used to tell-" Canus began.

"Are not quite as exaggerated as we might have believed." Braxis finished, putting the seal back into his belt pouch.

_Right, you might think I'm mad, but I have just so many stories floating around involving Edmund and the Traitors Army that there is just so much to write. See, the thing is, I see Edmund as being very charismatic, drawing people into him (you know, when he'd not being a prat and working for evil queens). That coupled with his perchance for justice, makes him an epic draw for anyone seeking to prove themselves. Fell Beasts would have thrown themselves in lava pits for him, simply because he trusted and believed in them. In this way I think they would return that trust and loyalty to him._

_Sorry about the spelling and grammar, really not in the mood to edit. Just want to sleep now. Those took considerably longer to write that I thought it would. I'll try to fix up any glaring mistakes tomorrow. Feel free to point them out, just don't be harsh when you do._

_Anyway, hope you enjoyed._


End file.
